Assam is where the country’s tea originated. Given the rich history and tradition of tea in the state, the Tea Board has decided to come up with a documentary on the historical journey of Assam Tea, beginning from the time Scottish adventurer Robert Bruce who discovered tea here in the 19th century, with the help of Maniram Dewan.
The 225th board meeting of the Tea Board, held recently in Tezpur of Sonitpur district, has approved the proposal for a comprehensive documentary on Assam Tea. Tea Board chairman MGVK Bhanu was present at the meeting. The proposal for the film was submitted by Bidyananda Barkakoty, a representative of the Joint Forum of Assam Tea Planters’ Association (ATPA), North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) and Bharatiya Cha Parishad (BCP).
An official said Rs 41 lakh has been earmarked for the film, which will be in two parts – the first part will be of about one hour and the second half will be about 10 minutes.
During the meeting, an eight-member advisory committee of the Small Tea Directorate of the Tea Board was constituted, comprising three members from Assam, two members from West Bengal, two members from south India and one member from Tripura. Barkakoty, Dinesh Sharma and Hiranya Bora are members of the committee from Assam.
The meeting has also given nod to small tea growers for setting up their own factories in their plantations with subsidies from the Tea Board. The factories will fall in micro and mini categories.
The official said factories producing below 200kgs of made-tea per day have been put in the micro category, while those producing below 500kgs of made-tea per day will be categorized as mini factories.
Barkakoty, who is also the chairman of NETA, said small growers can set up factories without registering themselves under the Tea Marketing Control Order, 2003.
“Only after obtaining a certificate from the Tea Board, the small tea growers can now set up their own factories and will be able to sell their tea through auction centres or directly from their factories,” Barkakoty said.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Film-to-be-made-on-Assam-Tea/articleshow/27987471.cms
